Seven arrested over alleged R1.1m Maruleng municipal fraud
Seven suspects have been arrested in connection with alleged fraud, corruption, theft and money laundering involving building-plan payments at Maruleng Local Municipality.
Seven individuals have been arrested in connection with a suspected R1.1 million fraud, corruption, theft, and money laundering scheme at Maruleng Local Municipality in Phalaborwa, according to police reports. The arrests were made following information provided to authorities on January 16, 2025, and are part of Operation Nasi Stocko, a corruption investigation conducted by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation's Serious Corruption Investigation (DPCI SCI).
The suspects, ranging in age from 25 to 57, are accused of processing building plan applications and diverting client payments into personal accounts rather than the municipality's account. The investigation, which involved the Mopani District Crime Prevention Unit, has led to a preliminary enquiry and further discovery of irregularities and money laundering.
The suspects are expected to appear in Hoedspruit Magistrate's Court on September 30, 2026. Police spokesperson Captain Wendy Nkabi encouraged the public to continue providing information about suspected corruption or other serious crimes to assist in protecting public resources and ensuring proper investigations. Major General Adv Gops Govender of the DPCI in Limpopo praised the efforts of the SCI Phalaborwa team and all involved in combating corruption.
Brief written by urgent.news from IOL's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
